NBA won’t vote this week on Kings sale, relocation to Seattle

Updated: The NBA has confirmed that the vote has been postponed and could even occur via email, according to numerous reports

Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn says NBA Commissioner David Stern told him during a phone call Monday that the league is not likely to make a decision this week on the future of the Sacramento Kings — on whether they’ll move to Seattle or stay put.

“(Stern) informed me then that he does not expect a decision out of the NBA Friday — that’ll be sometime after the meeting that we’ll get a decision made,” McGinn told reporters Tuesday at an impromptu news conference in front of KeyArena. “So don’t expect something Friday; that’s what I heard. But they will tee-up the decision by the Board of Governors within a week or two after that.”

The NBA was expected to make an announcement at a news conference Friday after the Board of Governors’ meetings Thursday and Friday in New York City. Up for vote is whether to approve investor Chris Hansen’s plan to purchase the Sacramento Kings and move them to Seattle, or reject the deal and allow a Sacramento ownership group to bid on the team.

However, on April 3 at a special meeting of the NBA’s finance and relocation committees, Stern did warn that a decision may not come during this week’s Board of Governors meetings.

Those two committees have called a special meeting for Wednesday — just before the Board of Governors meets. That could cause a delay if the board must deliberate for some time after the committees make their recommendation.

McGinn said it was his “understanding” that the delay is a result of the NBA’s own process.